2025–26 Tax Return: How to Lodge in myTax, and If You're Late

Your 2025–26 tax return covers 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026. You can lodge it yourself in myTax through myGov, or through a registered tax agent. Below are the deadlines, what to do if you've missed 31 October, the myTax steps, and the one thing myTax won't do for you: find your deductions.

The deadlines that matter

There are two deadlines, depending on how you lodge:

The tax agent date has conditions: you need to be on the agent's client list by 31 October, with no overdue returns from earlier years. If you become a tax agent's client after 31 October, your return is already overdue, but the agent can still lodge it for you.

Missed the deadline? What to do

1. Lodge as soon as you can. myTax still accepts 2025–26 returns after the deadline, and the steps are the same.
2. Tell the ATO if something stopped you. If illness or another event outside your control kept you from lodging, contact the ATO and explain. It can take that into account.
3. Or use a registered tax agent. An agent can lodge an overdue return and deal with the ATO for you. Check the agent on the Tax Practitioners Board register at tpb.gov.au.
4. Pay any tax you owe. Unpaid tax attracts interest. If you can't pay the full amount by the due date on your notice of assessment, you can set up a payment plan with the ATO.
5. Don't need to lodge? If you weren't required to lodge a 2025–26 return, you can tell the ATO with a non-lodgment advice in myGov.

Penalties for lodging late

The ATO can apply a failure-to-lodge penalty: one penalty unit for every 28 days (or part of 28 days) your return is overdue, up to five units. The dollar value of a penalty unit is indexed from time to time, so check the current figure on the ATO Penalty units page. In practice the ATO often doesn't apply the penalty when you're owed a refund, but that isn't guaranteed. Unpaid tax separately attracts the general interest charge.

How to lodge via myGov and myTax — step by step

Lodging online is free and usually takes 20–40 minutes. Before you start, check that your income statement in myGov says “Tax ready”. Here's the flow:

1. Log in to myGov at my.gov.au (or create an account).
2. Link the ATO service if you haven't already. You'll need your Tax File Number plus one identity check — a recent Notice of Assessment, a bank account recorded with the ATO, or an ATO-issued reference number.
3. Go to ATO online services → Tax → Lodge → Income tax, and start your 2025–26 return.
4. Review the pre-filled income. Check every figure against your own records — payslips, bank statements, dividend statements. Pre-fill is usually right, but it's your return: you're responsible for what's in it.
5. Add your deductions. This is the part myTax leaves blank (more below).
6. Check the live tax estimate. myTax shows your estimated refund or amount owing as you go, with the 2% Medicare Levy and Low Income Tax Offset already applied.
7. Submit and save your lodgement receipt number.
8. Wait for your assessment. If you're due a refund, it typically arrives within about two weeks by bank transfer to the account on record.

The one thing myTax won't do for you: deductions

myTax pre-fills your income. It does not add your deductions. The ATO knows what you earned — your employer, bank and share registry reported it. It does not know what you spent to earn that income. That part is up to you.

Things myTax will not fill in for you include:

• Working-from-home running costs (the fixed rate is 70c per hour for 2025–26, covering electricity, gas, phone, internet and stationery in one rate)
• Work-related vehicle and travel (88c a km for a car in 2025–26, up to 5,000 km)
• Self-education and professional development related to your current role
• Tools, equipment, uniforms and protective clothing
• Union fees, professional memberships and subscriptions
• Personal deductible super contributions and investment expenses
• Charitable donations to deductible gift recipients

Every one of these has to be entered manually, and every one needs records. The ATO can review a return for up to five years, so keep receipts, logbooks and a record of your work-from-home hours. Claim what you're genuinely entitled to; don't guess, and don't claim what you can't back up.

Using a registered tax agent

A registered tax agent can prepare and lodge your return for you. If you're on an agent's client list by 31 October 2026, your 2025–26 return is usually due by 15 May 2027. The agent's fee is deductible on your return for the year you pay it. Only registered agents can charge a fee to prepare a return; check an agent on the Tax Practitioners Board register at tpb.gov.au.

What's different about the 2025–26 return

For most people, the mechanics haven't changed. The 2025–26 return uses the same Stage 3 rates that applied in 2024–25:

One point that trips people up: the cut to a 15% bottom rate applies from 1 July 2026, so it lands on your 2026–27 return, not the 2025–26 return. This return still uses 16% on the $18,201–$45,000 band. The 2% Medicare levy applies as usual, the low income tax offset (up to $700) is applied automatically, and a HECS-HELP debt or the Medicare levy surcharge is worked out on the return too.

If you're carrying a study loan, your compulsory repayment is worked out on your income when you lodge — you can model it with the HECS repayment calculator. If your 2025–26 income for surcharge purposes was above $101,000 (single) without private hospital cover, check the Medicare levy surcharge calculator before you lodge.

After you lodge

Once you submit, the ATO issues a notice of assessment confirming your final position. If you're owed a refund, it's usually paid within about two weeks to your nominated bank account. If you spot a mistake after lodging — a forgotten deduction, or pre-fill that arrived late — you can amend your return through myTax. If you end up owing tax, note the due date on your notice of assessment, because unpaid amounts attract interest.